I've recently become a bit of a Sempervivum nut. About a month back I did a Google search on hardy plants and came across Sempervivums. Since then I've acquired a packet of seeds (99p on amazon) which are coming along nicely with about 50 little plants (gardening noob what do I call baby plants?) growing in my mini indoor greenhouse. Outside I have made a potted rockery with photos attached (Sedum Fuldagult on one side). The thing I find amazing is how fast they spawn little chicks. I had so many sprouting out from underneath my biggest Semp that I gave 9 to a friend of mine and I still have plenty left, no doubt they are ready for plucking in a few more weeks.

Also growing catnip from seed for my two british short hairs and trying my hand at plant cuttings and cloning. Look forward to being a member of this great forum, i know you are all a nice bunch (pun?).

Hello ivez152, and a big to ATP. We are so happy you found your way here.
Your container photo shows us such lovely healthy semps. Your babies would be called seedlings, and the new plants growing from your main rosettes would be called offsets (chicks would be the common name for them, as in Hen and Chicks).

Without knowing your growing zone, or the part of the country/world you are from it would be difficult to know how you should proceed with your wonderful baby seedlings.

valleylynn said:Hello ivez152, and a big to ATP. We are so happy you found your way here.
Your container photo shows us such lovely healthy semps. Your babies would be called seedlings, and the new plants growing from your main rosettes would be called offsets (chicks would be the common name for them, as in Hen and Chicks).

Without knowing your growing zone, or the part of the country/world you are from it would be difficult to know how you should proceed with your wonderful baby seedlings.

Valleylynn i am from Liverpool (Beatles hometown) in the United Kingdom. As you may know we don't get the best weather over this part of the globe, although I do believe semps do like a good cold spell, right? It would be good to know what to do once summer has passed. My semps are currently in a south facing garden and temps at the moment are around 22c in the day which is quite good for us, ha.

Yes, that really does sound like great conditions in your part of the world, south facing.
As soon as the seedling develop into nice rosettes you should be able to put them outdoors, as they do not like being indoors. You will still have to keep a close eye on them until next year.

They should love your winter weather.
I would love to see photos of your seedlings.

valleylynn said:Yes, that really does sound like great conditions in your part of the world, south facing.
As soon as the seedling develop into nice rosettes you should be able to put them outdoors, as they do not like being indoors. You will still have to keep a close eye on them until next year.

They should love your winter weather.
I would love to see photos of your seedlings.

Here is my little indoor grow box:

Close up on the seedlings plus you will notice some catnip and some Sedum cuttings i took earlier today using a root gel.

From above, this is about half of my seed packet, i figure i'll do the other half next year maybe around April, good idea?

Your seedlings might be a little etiolated as they seem to be STRETCHING. They should lie flat to the ground. GRADUALLY introduce them to more light and they should start growing more normally and forming a rosette. Do keep the seedlings MOIST but not WET as they have tiny roots at this point and you can lose them, although your portable grow box will hold in the moisture better than a simple pot.

Your climate is perfect for semps and you should be able to grow them with no problem. A few might not like your winter wet but most will be good.

to the semp forum David, those seedlings do look a tad leggy alright . Most people start off the semp seeds in Jan /Feb indoors or under cover outdoors. This gives them lots of time to grow and reach a good size for overwintering .
My tips for a newbie. ....pay scrupulous attention to labelling any semp cultivars you buy . If the labels get lost or mixed up you're doomed and finish up with what we call a NOID ( no identification plant) No.2 tip , drainage is ultra important, semps rot easily if not planted in a very free draining compost .
There are lots of threads here dealing with the various trials and tribulations of Sempology . Happy reading and semping
PS ,Here's the semp seeds I sowed last Feb , nb ,these will all be noids as the seeds don't come true to type. Of course there's always the chance one of them could turn out to be the next new cultivar

Hello David @ivez152 glad to have you join us here at ATP Your plants are looking great (the seedlings I know nothing about as I am never able to keep them moist enough...yet!) Be careful though, so far everyone I've met on here who says they are 'becoming a sempervivum fan', including myself, go waaaay overboard with these lovely cute plants
You have access to several growers in germany (and elsewhere) who sell their semps for pretty inexpensive, and there are some amazing new plants coming out!
Cheers

Thank you for all the replies. I should point out that my grow box is a bit of a mix. The seedlings in red are Camelot's so hopefully my semps aren't too leggy?

I'm still experimenting and learning but next year I plan on making a rockery in the corner of the garden full of Semps/sedum and any other small hardy plants I come across. I don't know what it is but there is just something I find attractive with succulents. I remember when I was a kid I always kept Cactus and I guess it's grown from there.

I love how these little seedlings become sempervivum!! OK now I have to look up what 'Camelots' are...haha we here in US call those foxgloves!
I like the looks of what I think is a sedum baby in mid front of your grow box!

This is an exciting thread for a newby to Semps. I've never seen a little seedling semp. I know what I'll be doing come Jan and Feb, as suggested by Paddy. I'm blown away by how well developed your semps from seed already are. Maybe they won't really be NOIDs if you start them from seed and name them yourself, will they?

It takes about 2 years, maybe three to see the full development of what it will do. From there it needs to be evaluated as to form, coloration, how productive is it, does it look different from all the rest out there?